In 30 days, the tiny southern Arizona community of Bisbee will become the first in the state to offer civil unions for same-sex couples.

The Bisbee City Council on Tuesday night gave the ordinance final approval, voting 5-2 in favor.

“It feels great,” said Councilman Gene Conners, who first proposed the idea earlier this year and has been among its strongest advocates.

Although it has had the consistent support of the council, the ordinance has faced an uphill battle.

Conners first introduced the ordinance in late March, and the council passed it in April following an emotional meeting during which opponents called it a sin against God and supporters called it a civil-rights issue.

Attorney General Tom Horne and the Center for Arizona Policy, a conservative advocacy group, threatened to sue over passages that Horne said were in conflict with state law. Opponents hoped and supporters feared the council would water down the ordinance to the point that it would have little impact.

But Bisbee stood its ground. It revised the ordinance but still called it a civil union.

The ordinance’s use of the word “union” had been a point of controversy. While there is nothing in state law that explicitly addresses civil unions, the state Constitution defines marriage as “only a union of one man and one woman,” and state law prohibits same-sex marriage. Other Arizona cities have gotten around those prohibitions by creating what they call “registries.”

Bisbee’s revised version still calls the action a “civil union,” but describes it as a contractual agreement. It also omits a line that said couples in a civil union would be recognized as “married” and another calling them “spouses.”

Center for Arizona Policy spokesman Aaron Baer said the group is still evaluating the new ordinance to see if there are legal concerns. The organization was behind the voter-approved measure to define marriage in Arizona as only between one man and one woman.

“As a matter of public policy, however, we believe the Bisbee City Council should not be passing ordinances to undermine the purpose and meaning of marriage as the union between one man and one woman,” Baer said.

The Attorney General’s Office told the Associated Press that Horne was fine with the revised ordinance and would not legally challenge it.

Horne had said he was concerned with language in the original ordinance that appeared to grant couples rights related to inheritance, property ownership, guardianship, insurance and adoption. The state, not cities or counties, has jurisdiction over those areas of law.

The revisions removed references to those specific state ordinances but would provide a form in which couples could make certain decisions and requests, such as making their partner their health-care representative, asking that they be allowed to visit in the hospital and giving them decision-making authority over their remains.

Bisbee resident James Coull has spoken in support of the ordinance. He said he struggled with limited rights when his partner died.

“It’s bread crumbs compared to full equality, but it’s a step in the right direction,” he said.

He said he doesn’t understand why other cities and towns haven’t done the same thing but is proud that Bisbee has done it.

“I think a lot of people just thought that because the state has a law, people have no voice,” he said. “But people here knew better and weren’t afraid to take the steps and show that people in this particular spot don’t agree.”

Several Arizona municipalities, including Tempe, have said they are considering similar ordinances.

Phoenix, Tucson and Flagstaff have domestic-partner registries. Couples register with the city clerk’s office for a fee.

Rights under the registries vary. Phoenix, for example, grants rights only for an individual to visit his or her partner in a hospital within city limits.

Flagstaff and Tucson cover hospital access and recognize the couple as spouses at any city facility, such as a library or pool.

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